


The Kids Are Alright

by ashavahishta



Series: Kidfic 'Verse [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Future Fic, Kidfic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-22 21:33:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3744319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashavahishta/pseuds/ashavahishta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex's first day of school definitely doesn't go the way Louis hoped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kids Are Alright

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Julie for helping me plot this out :)) <333

 

 

Louis always had this image in his head of what his son’s first day of school would be like.

 

He would wake up quiet and peaceful in the arms of an unidentified but very attractive man, and together they would go rouse their sweet, well-behaved little son from his bed. They’d have a nice breakfast together in a rustic but charming kitchen.  When the time came, his angel of a son would put on his cute backpack, give Louis and his mystery husband clingy hugs, and maybe have a bit of a cry about having to leave his parents. Louis would cuddle him and then send him skipping off into the sunshine.

 

A bit idyllic, sure. But a man can always dream.

  


The reality is somewhat different.

  


First of all, there’s nothing peaceful about the way that Louis wakes up. It’s more of a jolt, because his sleep is interrupted by a high voice absolutely screaming, “PAPAAAAAAAAAAAAA” in his ear.

 

Louis sits up, sheets falling to his waist as he blinks owlishly at his four year old son. Ryan is still in his onesie and his face is bright red, wet with tears. His soft brown curls are a mess and his eyes are wide and distressed.

 

“Hey, hey,” Louis murmurs, as soothing as he can be when his voice is still thick and gruff with sleep. He opens his arms and Ryan immediately scrambles onto the bed and burrows into his chest. “What’s the matter, baby?”

 

The other side of the bed is empty and cold, so Harry must have been up for awhile. A quick glance at the clock tells Louis that it’s only just past seven in the morning, but that’s pretty much a sleep-in where their kids are concerned.

 

Ryan sniffles into Louis’ t-shirt. “Alex pulled my hair and called me a derrbrain.”

 

Blinking in bewilderment, Louis wonders where on earth Alex picked up that word. He’s pretty sure he hasn’t heard it since _he_ was in kindergarten.

 

“Why did he do that?”

 

“Because I don’t want him to wear my Cap’ ‘Merica shirt to big boy school today.”

 

“Okay,” Louis endeavours to get out of bed with the four year old still clinging tenaciously to his chest. “And why can’t he wear it?”

 

“Because it’s _mine._ ”

 

“Of course.”

 

Louis decides to save the lecture about sharing for when he has both his sons present. The boys are usually pretty good at the whole thing, but it’s obviously time for a refresher course.

 

He and Ryan clamber downstairs together, Ryan much calmer now that he’s cuddled up in his father’s arms. That all disappears the moment he spots his brother in the kitchen wearing the aforementioned Captain America t-shirt.

 

“Lex, take it off! It’s mine!!” He squirms so hard that Louis nearly drops him, causing him to yelp loudly.

 

Wearing jeans, a tiny pair of Converse that Harry still squeals over every time he sees them, and the t-shirt, Louis’ eldest son stands in the middle of the kitchen in all his defiant glory. “Nope.”

 

Louis puts Ryan down but keeps his hands firmly on his shoulders in case he decides to launch a sneak attack on his big brother. “Alex, did you ask Ryan before you took his shirt?”

 

Alex avoids his gaze. It’s a sure sign that he knows he’s done the wrong thing but doesn’t want to admit it. Louis stares him down, repeating his name a couple of times until Alex raises guilty blue eyes to look at him.

 

“Well, no, but -”

 

“Give it back!” Ryan bursts out, struggling to lunge forward. Louis tightens his grip on his shoulders, surprised. Ryan is usually a pretty calm kid, not the type to make a big deal over something like this.

 

“Ry -”

 

“I want it! He can’t have it! It’s mine!”

 

“Shut up, derrbrain, I’ll wear it if I want!” Alex’s posture straightens further and he plants his feet stubbornly.

 

“Enough.” Louis lets his voice boom over his sons’, cutting them both off before the situation devolves into a full-on feud. “First of all, Alexander, I don’t know where this name calling is coming from but I don’t like it. That stops right now. You know you shouldn’t have taken the shirt without asking. And Ryan, honey -” he moves to crouch in front of Ryan so he can look up at his face. “Why are you so upset about the shirt? You usually don’t mind when Lex borrows your clothes.”

 

Ryan bites his lip. “I just don’t want him to. It’s mine.”

 

Louis has a strong feeling that there’s more to it than that, but he lets it slide. “Okay, bub.” He stands up and turns to Alex. “Lex, if Ryan doesn’t want you to wear the shirt you can’t wear it, okay? You have plenty of other cool things to wear.”

 

“But it’s the first day!”

 

“I know that -”

 

“You can’t wear it!” Ryan bursts out again. Louis wonders if he’s going to set a personal record for earliest time in the day to develop a migraine.

 

“What’s going on?” A new voice joins the mix. Louis’ eyes close in relief as a brief quiet settles over the room.

 

Harry’s standing at the base of the staircase, looking messy and flustered with a red-faced Talia in his arms.  His hair has been tied up in a hasty-looking bun, curly little flyaways escaping to hang into his eyes. His loose grey shirt is wet and smeared in a greyish substance that Louis knows from experience is probably porridge.

 

All in all, he’s a disaster. Louis is still happy to see him.

 

He offers Harry a quick, amused smile. “Somebody dive headfirst into her breakfast again?”

 

Harry smiles back, rueful and slightly exasperated. “You know what, I’m starting to think she’s setting personal goals for herself. ‘How much food can I get all over my face in the two seconds that Daddy’s back is turned?’”

 

“A lot, apparently.”

 

Harry nods towards the boys. “What’s all the screaming about?”

 

“Lexi stole my Cap shirt,” Ryan explains tearfully.

 

“Ryan wants me to have a bad first day at school,” Alex shoots back immediately.

 

“Do not!”

 

“Do too!”

 

It doesn’t take long for Harry to grasp the situation, but it does take a solid ten minutes for Alex to  admit he did the wrong thing, apologise to his brother and agree to change his shirt. By the end of it, Ryan still looks upset and Alex is sulking magnificently.

 

They’re also, Louis realises with a wince, running rather late now.

 

He hustles everybody upstairs and Harry sets Talia down on Ryan’s bed while he and Louis set about getting the boys dressed for school. He pulls Ryan’s onesie over his head, noting that the boy is still pouting. It’s so unlike his son to dwell like this that Louis smiles gently at him, determined to cheer him up.

 

“It’s Monday, Ry,” Louis reminds him. “That means Miss Claudia is bringing the baby bunnies in to visit, right? You love the bunnies.”

 

“Yeah,” Ryan mumbles, eyes downcast. Louis holds out a pair of jeans for him to step into, his little hand using Louis’ shoulder for balance.

 

“And you get to tell all your friends what we did on the weekend, don’t you? I bet Max can’t wait to hear about how we built a fort with Daddy and got to be secret agents for the day.”

 

“Yeah.” Not a smile in sight from his usually cheerful boy.

 

Sighing, Louis glances over Ryan’s shoulder at his husband. Harry has Alex dressed (the Captain America shirt lies discarded on the floor) and is now helping him choose a pair of shoes. Talia is amusing herself by cuddling up with a sleepy Molly, who obviously slept curled at the end of Alex’s bed last night. The golden labrador is completely unperturbed by Talia tugging gently on her ears and laying against her belly, and Louis thanks fate or destiny or whoever it was that gifted Molly with a seemingly endless supply of patience.

 

Louis finishes by pulling a bright green Ben 10 shirt over Ryan’s shoulders. He reaches out to brush his fingers through his fine hair and waits for Ryan to meet his eyes. “Why so sad, love? Alex said sorry and he gave your shirt back.”

 

Ryan mumbles something that Louis doesn’t catch. He looks so upset still, pink spots on his chubby cheeks and green eyes glistening wetly. It reminds Louis forcefully of a teenage Harry, his face blotchy with tears the day they lost X Factor. Ryan is so much like his father - the same gentle spirit, the same pure heart that Louis admires so much in his better half. He often worries that Ryan’s sweet nature will make him vulnerable to those bigger and crueller, that he won’t be able to stand up for himself. But Ryan is only a baby, after all - barely four years old. He has time to grow into himself, to develop the quiet, steely-eyed self-assurance that allows Harry to take on the world every day.

 

Until then, he has two dads and a very protective big brother to look after him.

 

Ryan mumbles something that Louis doesn’t catch, and he squeezes his shoulders reassuringly. “Speak up, bug. I can’t fix it unless I know what’s wrong, right?”

 

“Is Alex gon’ forget about me?”

 

The words are spoken so quietly that it takes Louis a moment to process them.

 

“What?” He asks, heart sinking as he realises what this silly fight was all about. Despite their frequent bickering, Ryan and Alex have been attached at the hip since the moment a one year old Alex had crawled into newborn Ryan’s crib and claimed him as “mine Wyan.” Of course Ryan would be upset about the idea of Alex going somewhere new that he can’t follow. Of course he would worry that Alex wouldn’t want to spend time with his little brother once he starts making friends with ‘big boys’. “Ry, no. That’s not going to happen, okay?”

 

“How do you know?”

 

“Because,” Louis says helplessly, gesturing to his other son. “Alex, c’mere.”

 

Looking confused, Alex comes to stand beside Ryan, Harry watching curiously from Alex’s bed as he tries to get Talia to stop pulling at Molly’s fur.

 

“Lex, your little brother is worried that you’re going to forget about him when you go to big boy school. That’s not true, is it?”

 

Alex looks nonplussed as he glances between his father and his brother. “Why would I do that?”

 

Ryan mumbles again, Louis only catching the words “big boy” and “dumb baby brother.”

 

“Well you are my dumb baby brother,” Alex agrees. Louis bristles, ready to tell him off until Alex adds, “But I like hanging out with you anyway.”

 

Ryan’s eyes widen like he’s just been offered a trip to Disneyland. “Really?”

 

“Sure.” Alex smiles and ruffles his hair, a move he’s definitely picked up from Louis. “Just because I’m a big boy now doesn’t mean I don’t wanna play with you anymore. Who else is gonna help me hide all Daddy’s dumb hats?”

 

“Oi!” Harry squawks, but he’s smiling, as thrilled as Louis feels to see their boys reconcile.

 

“See?” Louis says to Ryan. “Your brother can be a big boy but he’s still your brother, okay? And in a couple of years you get to go to big boy school too.”

 

A small smile creeps onto Ryan’s face. “Okay.”

 

“Okay.” Louis gestures imperiously towards himself. “C’mere, both of you.”

 

“Pa _pa_ ,” Alex complains, but lets himself be drawn into a cuddle anyway. Louis kisses both their heads.

 

“Now that that’s finally sorted,” he proclaims. “We are - incredibly late, oh my god. Everybody downstairs, please!”

  
  


Harry, bless his soul, had made the kids’ lunches the night before, so he throws on a new shirt before getting everybody into shoes and coats and rushing them out the door. Louis wrestles a defiant Talia into her carseat, settles the boys on either side of her, and finally dumps himself into the passenger seat just as Harry is starting the engine.

 

It’s a short drive, and Louis feels like he spends the first five minutes just trying to catch his breath. It wasn’t the worst morning they’ve had as a family, not by far, and he usually thrives on the chaos rather than let it exhaust him. Still, he was kind of hoping for things to go a bit smoother for Alex’s first day of school.

 

Then again - he glances into the backseat. Talia has settled, giggling as she tries to catch the toy truck that Alex is waving in front of her. Ryan is smiling as he sings along to the radio, completely recovered from his upset this morning.

 

And there’s Harry - darling, beautiful, calm Harry, who ran around at the speed of light getting the kids ready once Louis had resolved their fight, who remembered to bring Ryan’s art project, who pressed a hand to Louis’ hip in wordless comfort as they squeezed out the door. He’s singing with Ryan, sunlight catching on the slope of his nose and making his eyes a beautiful jade green.

 

It wasn’t the day Louis had envisioned, not by far. Alex is definitely not an angel, their kitchen is far too shiny to be considered ‘rustic’, and he doubts Alex is going to be all that upset about leaving his dads for the day. But...Louis smiles to himself and reaches for Harry’s hand at the next stoplight. He wouldn’t trade their kids for the world, and he certainly landed the outrageously attractive husband. He likes this reality much better.

 

He presses a gentle kiss to Harry’s knuckles. Harry beams at him like he knows exactly what he’s thinking - and he probably does.

  
  


They drop Ryan at kindergarten first. Harry twists in his seat to smack an obnoxiously loud kiss to his forehead and waits in the car for Louis to walk Ryan inside.

 

Ryan is back to his usual self, chattering happily about seeing the bunnies as they walk inside. He spots his friend Max quickly and tugs on Louis’ hand, eager to get going. Louis kneels in front of him. “Alright, little monkey. You’ve got everything, yeah? Coat, lunch, art project?”

 

Ryan nods obediently.

 

“Daddy’s gonna come get you today because I have a meeting, but I’ll see you for bathtime, okay?”

 

“Can we read the dinosaur book before bed?” Ryan asks, eyes hopeful.

 

“Sure, love.” Louis opens his arms again. “Cuddles, please.”

 

One tight hug and a whispered, ' _love you'_ later, Louis is watching Ryan trot off to join Max at the cubbies. He’s glad it’s only kindergarten, if he’s honest; he’s not quite ready to see Ryan become a ‘big boy’.

  


They park at Alex’s school so Harry can join them, Talia situated on his hip and Alex’s backpack slung over his shoulder. Louis is surprised to feel Alex reach for his hand and cling tightly as they approach the front doors. He’s been so excited about ‘big school’ up until now, but Louis knows that under all that bravado is a six year old taking on a scary new world.

 

“Bit bigger than kinder, huh baby?” he murmurs. Alex just nods, eyes wide.

Harry must notice their son’s uncharacteristic quiet too. Before they enter the classroom, he pauses and looks down at Alex. His mouth curls into a frown and in his softest voice he asks Alex if everything is okay.

 

Louis steps closer to his husband, curling his free hand around his favourite place - the soft curve of Harry’s hip. He doesn’t let go of Alex.

 

Alex chews his lips for a moment and then raises his eyes to meet Harry’s. “Daddy, what if I don’t like it?”

 

Harry’s face softens even further, if that was possible. He shifts to pass Talia to Louis, the toddler cooing quietly in Louis’ ear once she’s in his arms. Harry kneels to be at eye level with Alex. “You might not like all of it, Lexi. But there’s lots of fun things to do and interesting people to meet, and so many new things to learn. I promise you’ll like at least -” he spreads his hands about a foot apart. “This much of it.”

 

A small smile spreads on Alex’s face and he holds his hands up to match Harry’s. “This much?”

 

Harry spreads his hands even wider. “Maybe even this much,” he replies solemnly.

 

“And if you really really don’t like something, you tell Daddy or me and we’ll try to find a way to make it better, okay?” Louis adds.

 

“Okay.”

 

Harry takes Alex’s little hands in his. “What do we do when we try new things?

 

“Try our best.”

 

“And what do we say when we meet new people?”

 

“Be myself.”

 

“Because?”

 

Alex beams a genuine, warm smile. “Because there’s no one else like me.”

 

“That’s right.” Harry pulls Alex in for a tight hug. “And you’re amazing just the way you are, bubba. Your Papa and I are so proud of you no matter what.”

 

That’s about the point of the morning that Louis starts tearing up.

 

It’s emotional, okay? His first baby, his perfect boy is starting a new chapter, growing up so fast. Louis feels like it was two seconds ago that he held Alex in his arms for the first time, and now he’s six, a real little person with thoughts and dreams and fears like everybody else.

 

The next ten minutes go by in a blur of tears and hugs. Alex meets his teacher, is shown to his cubby, and is making friends with the little girl who shares his desk within about thirty seconds of sitting down. Louis clutches Harry’s hand tightly as they wave goodbye, and is comforted by Alex’s beaming smile as he enthusiastically waves back.

 

He’ll be fine.

  
  


The other parents mill around outside once class has started. Louis can tell that Harry is all set to join in - he’s such a _mum_ , excited to trade stories about where to buy durable kids’ shoes and his favourite organic baby food recipes - but Louis is still emotional and in desperate need of a cuddle. He tugs on Harry’s hand, promises him they’ll hang about to meet everybody tomorrow.

  


At home, he changes Talia’s nappy, gives her something to munch on and sets her in the playpen in the living room. Harry has already sunk into the big, squishy couch and Louis flops down directly on top of him. Unsurprised, Harry merely lets out a quiet grunt as he takes Louis’ weight. He curls big, warm arms around Louis’ waist and adjusts them both until they’re comfortable.

 

“Okay?” Harry’s voice is soft, probably aware of the riot of emotions Louis is feeling right now.

 

“I just can’t believe how big they’re getting,” Louis mumbles into Harry’s chest. He spreads his palm over his heart, rubs his thumb against the tail of Harry’s swallow tattoo. “I swear to god it was yesterday that we were crammed into the back of a tour bus, dreaming about one day having kids of our own.”

 

“I know. Any minute now Alex will be off at college and we’ll be getting Tali her first bra.”

 

“Don’t.” Louis whines. He swats ineffectually at Harry’s chest in reprimand.

 

“So sweet of Ry to worry about Alex leaving him behind,” Harry muses. He’s running his palm slowly up and down Louis’ back, and it’s so soothing that it takes Louis a moment to respond.

 

“Mm,” he agrees. “It’s cute, how close they are. We always hoped they’d be able to take care of each other like we did with our siblings.”

 

“When they’re not at each other’s throats,” Harry adds with a smirk in his voice.

 

“Of course.” Louis closes his eyes and arches further into Harry’s touch, feeling heavy and warm. “If you don’t stop that I’m gonna fall asleep right here.”

 

“Is that such a bad thing?” Harry’s lips press softly against Louis’ forehead.

 

“We’ve got...stuff. I need to call Robert, and get ready for the meeting, and the kitchen is still covered in porridge….Tali...”

 

“It’ll wait, boo.” Harry’s voice sounds as sleepy as Louis feels. “Tali’s napping, look. We can shut our eyes for a minute.”

 

It doesn’t take much for Louis to agree. He twists a little to press a kiss to Harry’s neck.  “Love you so -” he lets out a massive yawn. “So much.”

 

Harry is already snoring.

 

 


End file.
